PROJECT SUMMARY
The goal of this fellowship is to prepare the applicant, Thea Senger-Carpenter, as a nurse-scientist studying
relationships among adolescent sleep, adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), and associated symptoms and
outcomes. To that end, the proposed fellowship consists of two complementary components: (1) a training plan
comprising formal training, mentorship, hands-on research, manuscript publication, and professional
development activities and (2) a research project that will further our understanding of how sleep affects the
relationships among ACEs, mental health symptoms and persistent or recurrent pain (PRP) during
adolescence. The applicant will be supported by a strong mentorship team with sponsors at the University of
Michigan School of Nursing and Yale School of Nursing. Together, the mentorship team provides expertise in
adolescent sleep, pain and associated symptoms, and ACE exposure. The training program will help the
applicant develop: a) expertise in adolescent sleep, PRP, and the sequelae of ACE exposure, b)
methodological skills in longitudinal, multivariate data analysis and c) engage in the dissemination of research
findings and professional networking activities.
Sleep deficiency affects up to two-thirds of American adolescents and is a risk factor for PRP, anxiety, and
depression. ACE exposure is similarly prevalent, affecting around half of U.S. teens, and has been associated
with both PRP and mental health symptoms. Importantly, sleep deficiency may moderate the effect of ACE
exposure on other health outcomes. However, little is known about how sleep deficiency impacts the
relationships among ACE exposure, mental health symptoms, and PRP across adolescence nor how these
relationships differ by race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status (SES), and sex. Thus, the aims of the proposed
project are 1) to determine whether and how sleep deficiency moderates the indirect effect of ACEs on PRP
through mental health symptoms and 2) to describe how these relationships differ by race, ethnicity, SES, and
sex. All aims will be investigated using the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study, an ongoing NIH-
funded longitudinal study of youth development in the United States.
This proposed project integrates the research lenses of health equity and population and community health
outlined in the National Institute of Nursing Research's strategic plan. By identifying sleep as a modifiable
target for intervention, our findings have the potential to reduce the symptom burden of adolescents exposed to
ACEs and mitigate racial, ethnic, socioeconomic, and sex-based inequities in health outcomes.
